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Original poster

Do you enjoy going on long walks as a family?

29 replies

Elf · 15/03/2007 20:43

Am I in fantasy land? I look forward to when my three dcs are a little bigger and we can all go on long walks - maybe even go on holiday to the Peak District or somewhere and do loads of walking. They usually enjoy it at the moment, close to home, and I am trying to build up their muscles so that they are used to it! I don't know if teenagers would enjoy that but what about say aged 6-11. What's your experience? Thank you.

OP posts:
indiajane · 15/03/2007 20:44

My mum always took me on great big long hikes across Dartmoor when I was 5 and upwards. They were great and I have lovely memories of the map reading and the picnics and the mud and all that stuff.

My kids however winge if they have to walk from the car to the front door. Going to change that this summer though!

ArcticRoll · 15/03/2007 20:48

Hi Elf.
My children are 5 and 7 and love going on long walks.
We make sure we bring lots of snacks and take compass/map and let them map read.
Actually they have much better sense of direction than me.

Donbean · 15/03/2007 20:48

Yes, we have some gorgeous walking routes around us.
We have been walking since our ds was tiny, trailing his 3 wheeler buggy up hill sides and down. Having a packed lunch picnic at the sumit then an ice cream at the bottom.

Its great fun and doesnt cost a penny, we do it loads in summer.

Ive got one planned for his 6th or 7th birthday party...i thought instead of a wacky wearhouse/macdonalds or whatever it is people do, we will go on a hill walk and have a picnic with a couple of his mates. (he is only 3.5 at the mo!)

No, you are not in fantasy land, its a lovely pass time to so with children.

wotzsaname · 15/03/2007 20:52

Long bike rides too, my dd1 can easily do 10 miles with us. dd2 does it with tag along, hard work for me!

Take cake bars to keep them going.

Kaz33 · 15/03/2007 20:55

My 5 and 3 year olds can do a two hour walk with a bit of planning, snacks etc...

They don't know it yet, but that is just the start

Original poster
Elf · 15/03/2007 20:55

Ooh that's lovely, very encouraging - thank you so much. I'm off to bed now and will check for any other messages tomorrow. Most uplifting!

OP posts:
dingdongjustforyoufg · 15/03/2007 21:09

we're working on it, DT2 would keep going all day, DT1 has lead feet ...really looking forward to them getting older and stronger, but they are 3 and can manage a couple of hours on an interesting walk, with motivation to keep at it (ok, bribery )

quadrophenia · 15/03/2007 21:11

I have four kids two aged 6, one aged 5 and one aged 3 and we walk loads, just be prepared for weeing in bushes!!

Skribble · 15/03/2007 21:26

Yes we all love walking.

Pick good routes, circuler ones so you don't have to double back on yourself, the kids hate that.

Vary your walks, country parks, forestry roads, hills, rivers etc.

Agree they love to have a map, you could print off a sheet for each of them and put it in a polypocket sellotaped up. Or even a treasure hunt sheet to give them more to do if they need it.

Get a good back pack for a picnic they love that too, keep some little treats in your pocket for the way back in case they are getting tired. It can help to time the lunch stop to be more than half way through the route so the second leg is shorter as they tend to slow down as they go on.

hillary · 15/03/2007 21:28

I love going for long walks with my dd's we live on the sea front so walk the length of the beach, up the pier, just about everywhere especially on lovely days like today. we have just bought a puppy too so will enjoy it even more

Skribble · 15/03/2007 21:32

We often go for a walk around the village to see whats going on, like to check on the progress of the house builds, in the summer we include walking along the river, but it is a bit too muddy just now. Mine are 10 and 7. 10 year old loves walking and has proper walking boots and shoes, he would rather have a pair of Regatta boots than trainers.

nulnulcat · 15/03/2007 21:34

i hate walking was made to go on long walks as a kid and long bike rides. vile! i do walk a lot but not in country we will do the half hour walk to school etc rather than take the car so we are not total couch potatoes but walks in the country are a big no way! and the only bike you will catch me on is in a gym. her dad enjoys all that sort of stuff so when she is older she can go with him if that what she wants to do.

but i admit i am not the outdoors type in any way, have never been camping and never intend to

janeite · 15/03/2007 21:38

We walk a lot but normally only for a couple of hours max. And we have to stop somewhere for hot chocolate or I get grouchy! DD2 (9)loves walking, dd1 moans a bit but mainly because she doesn't like getting dirty, rather than the actual walking! We also did an activity holiday on the coast which involved walks of uo to about 8 miles in a day, with stops for picnic etc. We all absolutely loved that.

JoshandJamie · 15/03/2007 21:41

We try to go for walks - but ours are only 18 months old and 3 years and it invariably turns into a mega whinge fest - if not from them, then from me having to lug them in a backpack for miles. But I am hoping it will improve once they're older

hillary · 15/03/2007 21:46

I love it even more now I have my new Phil & Teds e3 helps to keep you in shape & gives you a sense of calm too

JoshandJamie · 15/03/2007 21:49

Hillary - how often do you get punctures with your phil and teds? Because we get them after just about every walk out which irritates the hell out of me and means we end up using the god forsaken, shoulder aching backpack.

NorksBride · 15/03/2007 21:56

We walk the dog everyday - it was great before the DCs started pre-school/school as we could all go, including DH.

We still walk enmasse at least once a week. All the DCs could walk for about an hour from the age of 2yrs. (DS1 could do it at 18mths but he has amazing stamina).

NorksBride · 15/03/2007 21:58

Meant to add - in terms of BIG walks, I walked up Snowdon several times during my childhood including the Watkin Path, aged about 10.

So yes, they should be able to walk for miles and miles at those ages.

2shoes · 15/03/2007 21:59

no as pushing dd's wheelcahir is to much like hard work

hillary · 15/03/2007 21:59

Hi joshandjamie no punctures as of yet, driven the P&T for about 8 months now I go between that and my silver cross coach pram.

NorksBride · 15/03/2007 22:26

2shoes - you should take a look at Bedgebury Pinetum. In fact I'm going to post a link in SN because it looks quite good.

paulaplumpbottom · 15/03/2007 22:28

We usually have a short walk before dinner if DH is home most days during the week at a local park. We walk alot at the weekends, at the beach or near a local forest.

hotandbothered · 15/03/2007 22:48

Short walks yes - long walks no I get really bored really quickly unless we're walking round a pretty village, crunching thro leaves etc. Walking for the sake of walking? No thanks. Enjoy walking the dog, but he has hip problems, so lots of short walks for us. Yippee!

beachyhead · 15/03/2007 22:50

We do about an hour each weekend day. We did Bedgebury last weekend (Kent, near Tunbridge Wells, for those who don't know) but our 9 year old needs the exercise, otherwise she gets all stressy!

NorksBride · 15/03/2007 22:51

beachy - I just posted about Bedgebury on the SN boards. Spooky!

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